Protests at an MLB game are not unheard of. But protesting hot dogs? That’s a new one.
Storming the field of play in sports means there are two issues at hand. First, people are taking their beliefs in a movement to far. Second, how were the people able to get onto the field and past MLB security in the first place?
With the Nathans Hot Dog Eating Contest going as usual back on July 4th, animal rights activists took to Dodger Stadium, presumably to protest the contest on July 3. They took the field in the ninth inning with big signs that challenged sales of hot dogs at Dodger Stadium. They were quickly removed from the field by Dodger security, who apprehended them as quickly as people in the stands could see them.
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An animal rights group who is not known to be related to the protestors talked about what they may have meant with the signs, “stop selling animal products, support equal rights for all animals to be free from captivity and harm.” A member from the same group also said in a different statement “The LA Dodgers relentlessly promote their ‘Dodger Dogs’ as fun, family-friendly fare, but the truth is that Dodger Dogs are made from piglets who were taken from their family, thrown into a massive prison, and tormented by disease and neglect that would horrify any family.”
This group probably has a point, but again, conveying your proclamation at a baseball game by running onto the field probably does not represent others well.
When fans storm the field like this, they are usually trying to convey one of two ideas. Either a brand new idea that they want to gain steam, or an incredibly old idea that people do not want to hear anymore, as true as it may be. Animal rights is an idea that has many supporters both for and against.
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That said, at a baseball game, people do not want to hear it. Activists also need to know that no matter how hard they try even with a reasonable amount of sense to their proclamation, it will probably not work at a baseball game. They may be trying to get on national news, and they are using the that platform as that opportunity.
Baseball and football are in a similar boat because their field of play is much larger than basketball. Obviously it is incredibly hard to keep fans from coming onto the field from every spot on such a large field. However, these fans came from the infield side, and still managed to get to the mound, which is an entirely different issue.
That whole vicinity is where there is security. How could these people get on the field? This brings up an entirely different issue about safety for not just the fans, but everyone in the stadium. If these people did have some sort of weaponry on them, it would have probably been sniffed out in front of the stadium, but if a fan can get onto the field so easily, there is a slight concern for general safety.
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Overall, if a fan is coming onto the field of play in any sport, there are multiple problems at hand; public safety, and someone or a group of people taking their beliefs to the wrong venue. Although animal rights is a highly important topic, it should be expressed on the field of play.